Florida the rules are different here Chapter CLXIV

A fire breaks out at a Florida art museum destroying $100,000 of art to be destroyed. The cause? An advertising balloon. The Miami Herald informs us the balloon survived the inferno. Don't you just love the Sunshine state?

Linked to- Bright & Early, Bullwinkle, Pirate's Cove, The World According to Carl,

An advertising balloon worth a few bucks may have sparked a fire that destroyed $100,000 worth of paintings at a Miami gallery overnight.

The fire was at Harold's Golden Gallery, 2921 NW Sixth Ave., part of the Wynwood Art District.

It started in a storage room where a number of paintings were kept.

It was caused, apparently, by an advertising balloon that bobs above the building, attracting customers.

The balloon was tethered to the building with a rope, tied near the weather head, a conduit through which electrical wires are fed into the building.

Ignatius Carroll, spokesman fire Miami Fire Rescue, said it appeared that winds had buffeted the balloon in recent days, causing friction where the rope tied it to the building. PVC pipe serving as electrical insulation was worn through, which caused a circuit breaker to blow out in the storage room, which ignited the fire.

When firefighters responded, flaming debris from the drop ceiling began to fall on them, forcing them to retreat until they could make sure the building was structurally sound.

It was. They put out the fire.

In addition to the $100,000 in destroyed art work, various other paintings sustained smoke damage that can be restored, according to Carroll.

The balloon was not damaged.